World Cup winners and losers

Who were the winners and losers in Brazil?

Brazil, the country: Things didn’t always work, and traffic was hell, but the nation that wasn’t supposed to pull this thing off kind of, sort of did without major incident. The airplanes were even on time.

CONCACAF: Three and a possible four World Cup spots for the much-maligned Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean Association Football was deemed too many. Maybe not, huh? Costa Rica reached the quarterfinals, Mexico should have reached the quarterfinals, and the United States would have as well had Chris Wondolowski not missed a sitter against Belgium. Honduras, which still has yet to win a World Cup game in nine tries, was the lone disappointment.

Lionel Messi: No matter what happens in the final, the Argentine maestro has effectively quieted all that talk about how he could never play for his country like he does for his club. He has four goals in six games and set up several others, all while being the focus of the opponent’s defensive game plan.

Manaus: The Amazon capital was the one place in Brazil that truly acted like it wanted the World Cup, decking out the city in streamers and welcoming guests with an extensive cultural program. If the idea was to put a forgotten place back on the map, it succeeded.

Algeria: The most improved team in this World Cup, going from no goals in 2010 to seven in 2014. The Desert Foxes nearly knocked off Belgium and took Germany into overtime in the second round before succumbing 2-1.

Adidas: Adidas and Nike both do about $2 billion in global soccer sales, and they both had three sponsored teams in the quarterfinals. But Adidas has both finalists, and it got the technology right for the Brazuca official match ball after mixed reviews for the Jabulani in 2010. Advantage, three stripes.

American soccer: The soaring TV ratings, the massive viewing parties, the growing interest among the casual fan all are indications that the sport took another big step forward in 2014. It’s still not where it is in other countries, but it’s also nowhere near where it used to be in this country.

San Diego soccer: Here’s some perspective on how big the World Cup was here. Thursday’s primetime telecast of the Padres against the L.A. Dodgers and Cy Young pitcher Clayton Kershaw got a 3.0 TV rating in San Diego. The World Cup’s first 60 games averaged a 3.7 on ESPN, which is closer to a 5 or 6 when you include Univision viewership. Averaged.

LOSERS

Brazil, the team: They were never as good as people thought, and it was only a matter of time before they were exposed. Even worse, they went down playing unsamba-like soccer, leading the tournament in fouls committed. And holding up Neymar’s jersey during the anthem before the semifinal against Germany? An almost pathetic sign of mental weakness.

FIFA: A month of scintillating games didn’t rehabilitate its image as the planet’s most corrupt sporting organization.